January 8, 2021
By News Director Jared Atha
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper from Troop H, which is officed in Clinton, has been awarded a high honor.
According to the OHP, Lt. Steven Cornell was awarded the 2019 Chief’s Award for his dedication to the western Oklahoma area of firearms training and instruction.
In a press release, OHP says after Lt. Cornell moved to Custer County in 1995, he became a firearms instructor and started on what has to be one of the biggest individual efforts in the history of the OHP when he began construction of a training and shooting facility on his own property.
In the beginning, the property included a berm, targets, barricades, and a small metal building. Over the years, the range developed into an elite training facility with movable paper targets, many types of steel targets, 100-yard shooting options for shooting, and even longer shooting areas. The site includes an obstacle course, temporary frame buildings for entry training, and a full-sized railroad car used for storage.
There are vehicles of all types to shoot over, under, from, into and out of, and the vehicles can be pushed around as part of physical training. There is even a workout room in the barn.
OHP says Lt. Cornell recognized that there was a chance of being in a gunfight, prone in a sticker patch, next to an old cow patty, and he made that realistic scenario available.
Several nationally recognized elite instructors have taught at Cornell’s range. Other groups and agencies have recognized his effort and expertise by sending members to train at this facility.
